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Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

I had a discussion with a beekeeper neighbour here the other day. Most of our conversation was related to hive nutrition,
I do believe our we need to direct more attention towards this issue
and the reason why? pesticides and pathogen and environmental pressures

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

Reading this is just redicolous. I mean this isnt a new thing. its not just bees. cant you see it??? its a trend, i suppose you can explain why there are not any pheasants left or why every other specie is in decline. Dont you see the big picture?There is no good forage land left for anything.
How could you begin to say these people in this video are wrong? They have been living it for many years. Its obvious these chemicals are having a negative effect on the bees.

And you cannot make a honey crop on fake man made pollen SUBSTITUTE. It is still a SUBSTITUTE for the real thing. I want real honey from bees and if there is no natural pollen left then there is no nectal either. People are so happy to have good raw honey and there is no substitute for that.

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

It sure is quite out their......... perhaps it is a "silent spring" Keith , ItS been a dam cold one here ,if fact its still what I call winter. I though the video was pretty realistic to what has occurred, from what I can ascertain. Lye Johnson is probably right, plant walnuts.The 4.1 count of bees on the grading system in that yard,orchard, would not be your typical grade or average grade of all California bees this year , would it? I know Mr Blue boxes would be double or triple that.I find it incredible that we can put a man on the moon but can't find out whats killing the honeybee.Some disastrous losses in Canada too, and as this winter continues mine climb as well.I wonder what percentage of commercial keepers do not go to almonds

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

Originally Posted by benstung

There is no good forage land left for anything.

Ben, forage area is shrinking that's the main problem, I agree 100%. Most are running more bees with last pasture an this is showing up in high winter loss rates. To combat this some keeper's are on a feed program with great success. Corn & soy beans are all over the place, so if they were blaming that I would understand, but there not.

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

There is a myth that a healthy hive can resist mites. Mites actually do well on healthy bees, assuming they are a non resistant strain, course the bees won't stay healthy too long.

Mites weaken the bees directly by sucking the blood out of them during larval development. Also, mites vector all kinds of viruses. Of course, to bees weakened in such a way, chemical poisons and poor nutrition can be the coup de grass.

But mostly, keep mites out of the hives, and they can handle everything else way better. Why did all those guys lose hives? In my opinion if the truth gets out, it will in large part have to do with mites. There are reasons why this is sometimes not fully discussed, though.

In deference to Keith though, I've heard some good things about his feed, and if bees are indeed lacking something and Keith's product can supply it, then this will boost, or save, the hive, in proportion to the need. But from where I am, I don't see a food supplement alone saving a hive from mites.

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

But mostly, keep mites out of the hives, and they can handle everything else way better. Why did all those guys lose hives? In my opinion if the truth gets out, it will in large part have to do with mites. There are reasons why this is sometimes not fully discussed, though.

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

ot, i'm guessing that good nutrition doesn't directly suppress mites, but it makes the bees stronger so that they can afford the extra energy expended with hygenic behavior, plus it boosts their immune system to better handle the viral infections.

journaling the growth of a treatment free apiary started in 2010. 20+/- hives

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

Originally Posted by Ian

well, I thought Dan Rather did a good job

Same. In that his job is to present an interesting and entertaining article for the non beekeeping public.

It was well researched, kinda. The scope of the article was not to do an in depth analysis of exactly what went wrong with the hives that died, and it's probably asking too much from such a reporter, to expect that.

Re: Dan Rather report on bee shortage in Calif almonds

I seem to recall that 57% of all US keepers income came from pollination, only the remainder came from honey production, this from what I know is a given gold mine...if you got bees and strong healthy bees .What your saying Keith is that this is relatively easy, the facts and figures are not saying this. PPB is it Keith?